I stand beside Tony Stark as he goes through the things that I need to do. "So, what does this button do?" I ask out of curiosity, my finger almost pressing the big black button.
"That self-destructs." He swats my hand away. "You don't touch that."
"I guessed." I mutter. "Hey, I have a question."
"What?" He sounds agitated.
"If Hulk didn't like the experiment, why didn't he adopt me?" I say.
"You cry at night, anger him, your smashed to pieces. We both would've done bad things." He says. I nod. "Now, you touch that button to activate the shield. Have a try." I push the little blue button and a shield forms around me. An invisible shield. Cool. "And this one activates your weapons." I push the other one and find a gun in my hand.
"You trust me with a gun?"
"No, I need to change that." He smiles.
"What do you mean? I'll cry at night and anger him."
"All babies cry. Don't tell me you haven't cried." I shrug.
"Sometimes I used to cry because the kids used to make fun of me. I was different."
"No, Cleo, your special." He tilts my chin up and smiles.
"No. I'm a freak."
"Keep telling yourself that and see how freaky you end up. I'm talking about zombie bites and all that." I gulp. "Have faith in yourself."
"I do. It's you who I don't trust or have faith in trusting."
"Who said anything about trust? Your my daughter, whether you like it or not, you look a little like me, you act like me. Cleo, your mine." I shake my head.
"No. I don't have a father." His face turns to shock. "All those years I was alone in that cell and you couldn't help me! You didn't come to say if I was alive. I was dead to you."
"For a while, yes. You were. And then I started to get curious again."
"Yippee." I say sarcastically. "Why can't adopt me now?"
"It's too late, you're needed. If he'd adopted you as a baby he could've pretended to Fury you weren't needed."
"Oh. Why am I needed?" He shrugs.
"I don't know. Try this on." He throws me a metallic suit.
"This is like yours." I tell him.
"No, it looks like mine, its safer."
"How?"
"More defence, and weaponry." I nod. It slips over my clothing secures itself.
"It's fine. Hey, do I get a nickname? You know...like Iron Girl. Or Iron Cleo. I like that..."
"Nope, kid you don't get out. You need to be nice for a name."
"I know! Why don't you call me Clueless? Because I'm clueless of what my power is."
"Why don't I call you Terry? That's what you should be called." I throw Tony a dirty look.
"Bite me." I walk away, still wearing the suit.